AROUND THE WORLD

Diamond export ban on Liberia is lifted

The UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday to lift a ban on Liberian diamond exports imposed in 2001 when "blood diamonds" were being used to fuel civil wars in western Africa.

Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said the vote at UN headquarters in New York was "a recognition of the progress made in Liberia" to meet the conditions to join an international program to certify the diamonds' origin to ensure they were mined legally.

Liberia seeks to join the Kimberley Process, a 71-nation group created out of the furor over the diamond-funded wars.